Independent candidates who are in the fray in Bengaluru North constituency have alleged that religious leaders are influencing voters, asking them to vote for a particular party or candidate, and urged electoral officers to keep a tight vigil.
Airing their opinions during a meeting with Mounish Mudgil, Special Officer for the Enforcement of Model Code of Conduct in Bengaluru, and B.M. Vijayshankar, Returning Officer for the constituency, here on Sunday, they also said national parties were using flags during rallies by flouting rules.
Citing ineffective enforcement by teams such as SST, FST, and Excise to control movement of cash, liquor, and freebies, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, had appointed the Commissioner of Survey Settlement and Land Records as the Special Officer (Enforcement) for three parliamentary constituencies in the city.
An Independent candidate asked if officials were taking note of expenditure made by parties for taking out rallies, distributing pamphlets, etc. The participants also took objections to television news channels telecasting reports about particular candidates winning or losing the elections. “As the election date is nearing, these kind of news may influence voters and do injustice to Independents,” said a candidate.
Officials said people can call 1950 (toll-free number) or 080-224 0515 or 94481 94915 to complain about model code of conduct violations.